(Correction, June 21, 2016: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the name of Dick Costolo's fitness startup.)
Zillow Chief Executive Spencer Rascoff is getting in on the podcast boom. He's launching a monthly downloadable show called "Office Hours," featuring conversations with other top executives about dilemmas they’ve faced as managers.
Rascoff has been CEO of Seattle-based Zillow Group, a real estate information company, for almost six years. He never went to business school.
"Most of what I’ve learned about business and being a CEO, I’ve learned from conversations with my peers," Rascoff said.
Rascoff started thinking other people might benefit from hearing the kind of tips he’s been getting from top executives. At the same time, he got hooked on listening to podcasts and said he's taken some inspiration from actor Alec Baldwin’s podcast, "Here’s The Thing."
"I hope that mine can be as entertaining and funny as his," Rascoff said. "It will definitely be more educational than Alec Baldwin’s podcast, but it’s similar in that vein in the sense of two peers hanging out, talking biz and letting others listen in."
For the first episode of "Office Hours," Rascoff spoke with Dick Costolo, the former CEO of Twitter and now chief executive of a fitness startup. They talked about common management mistakes, including when a boss gives information to some people but not to others or soft-pedals bad news.
Other upcoming episodes include interviews with Citigroup Chief Executive Michael Corbat and, closer to home, Scott Svenson, CEO of Mod Pizza. The podcast "Office Hours" will be available on iTunes and on the Zillow web site.
